Tennis Mailbag: Coco Gauff Is in Need of a Post-U.S. Open Reset

The American can look to Aryna Sabalenka as she regroups following a shaky showing at Flushing Meadows. Plus, Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal, soaring ticket prices and more from the major.

Gauff fell to fellow American Emma Navarro in the Round of 16 at the U.S. Open. / Mike Frey-Imagn Images

Submissions have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

As it is written, Wednesday is Mailbag Day …

• Thanks to everyone who came to the live Served podcasts. We had a lot of fun and it was a pleasure to meet some of you. More announcements to come …

• Here is the most recent Served, including Andy Roddick’s analysis of Coco Gauff and the U.S. Open re-draw.

• We’ll be back this weekend with U.S. Open finals wrap-ups and our post-tournament 50 Thoughts column.

Onward with a few questions and answers before then …

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Hi, 

I have been a fan since 1983 (Chris Evert was No. 2 and Martina Navratilova was invincible), and I can tell you that there has never been a champion who hasn't made a comeback.

Best Regards,

Joe Johnson

• Well put. I wrote the other day that Carlos Alcaraz’s check engine light is on. You know what? Engines get checked, serviced and cars continue running. This has been a disastrous month. Let’s not sugarcoat it. It’s not just the losses, but the absence, the destinationless shots and the breakdowns in execution. But comebacks are abundant. And careers are long.

My sense is that the question pertains specifically to Coco Gauff. She’s going through a rough patch. Playing a match as the defending U.S. Open champion—Labor Day week; your home major; against another American—and double-faulting 19 times—11 in the decisive set—is a traumatic experience. But recovering from trauma is baked into the experience of being a professional player. No career is linear. No career goes precisely as planned.

As I see it, Gauff needs two things: 1) Time off to address the technical flaws that are causing this distress, and 2) A reminder that plenty of players—Aryna Sabalenka is a name that vaults to mind—have confronted yips and technique breakdown … and emerged just fine. It says here, she looks back at this summer as something she surmounted, not a career-death spiral.

Sabalenka retooled her serving mechanics after enduring a case of the yips in 2022. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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Hey Jon,

Would be fun to see the percentage of points won for players when they're on the same side as their coaches vs. the other side. It could be interesting to see if there are differences for some players and not for others.

Thanks,

Troy

• I love it. Great idea. And—unlike so many other tennis data suggestions—this one is easily obtainable. And let’s use this as an opportunity to tip Craig O’Shaughnessy, a real tennis asset. He’s always good for a nugget. One he gave me the other day: More than 70% of the points at the U.S. Open have been of four or fewer strokes, the highest percent in nearly a decade and evidence the courts are playing fast.

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Dear Jon,

Thank you for making the right stand when it comes to the conflict of interest presented when TV analysts who coach active players also have a public role as a broadcaster. These analysts/broadcasters occupy a role and space with social capital and trust from the public and fans. This is simply not the same as a random coach of World No. (double to triple digits) coming on ESPN for an isolated interview, to tell people their player is innocent … There is something about staff members to players with a direct line to the public that is completely brushed aside in tennis, and it taints the sport as a whole, not just single individuals. (Perhaps this is also true in other sports, but I have not encountered it in the ones I follow.) 

Br from Canada

• Thanks. I was heartened that 90% of the comments recognized how problematic and, to use a legal term of art, icky, it all is.

Someone took issue with my “take” here. Just to be clear: This isn’t me. These are the rules of engagement. Agents don’t write reviews of clients’ films. Admission officers don’t read their own children’s applications. Judges recuse themselves if they stand to gain from a legal outcome.

Outside of the incestuous world of tennis, saying media members shouldn’t be commentating when they are also being paid by the subjects is about as controversial as saying, people should not leave stores with items they didn’t purchase. It’s so obvious, foundational and universally agreed upon, that it scarcely needs to be said.

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I’m wondering if you have any insider information about why Elena Rybakina's former coach Stefano Vukov has been banned by the WTA? Her withdrawal from the U.S. Open definitely seems related to this since she didn't appear to have any injuries in her first-round win.

 Alan K.

• There’s a lot of chatter around fourth-seed Elena Rybakina—who pulled out of her eighth event this year after her Round 1 win—and way too much baseless speculation.

Here’s what I can report. It was an open tennis secret: Her longtime coach, Vukov, made a lot of people uncomfortable, including WTA personnel. (He would openly yell at her; they would sometimes squabble during matches; he got this tattoo.) Pam Shriver once wrote on X, “As I watch Rybakina try to win her second major in 7 months, I hope she finds a coach who speaks and treats her with respect at ALL times and does not ever accept anything less.” Rybakina responded, defending Vukov. In many quarters, the discomfort remained.

Before the 2024 U.S. Open, Rybakina announced she and Vukov were parting ways. As is her wont—and as her right—she deflected all questions. The WTA did not respond to my inquiries seeking clarification. I was told her withdrawal before Round 2 was health-related and not related to Vukov. It’s up to her to elucidate if she so chooses.

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I just read the mailbag and agree with the reader who is complaining about ticket prices. I am in the 1% (barely) and this year am not going for the first time in years, because the prices are prohibitive for a family of four.

Any comments/ advice for Stefanos Tsitsipas? Here is a guy who was a solid top-five-er and now cannot win a first-round match. How does he get out of this?

Anna

• I wonder if the ticket issue doesn’t distill into this: as the custodian in tennis tasked with growing and promoting the sport, is the USTA duty-bound to maximize revenue? Or make its signature event accessible? Again, the strategy this year is essentially “first hit free.” The USTA will waive fees on the qualifying week. Then it’s naked, unfettered capitalism.

As for Tsitsipas, maybe he draws inspiration from Paula Badosa, his romantic partner … whose parents we seldom see.

Tsitsipas fell to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round of the U.S. Open. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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Who is the more surprising player to reach No. 9, Veronika Kudermetova or Dominique Van Roost?

@rafasboyfriend

• Hey! You’ve come to the wrong place to knock Van Roost! I was just playing a version of this game with a friend. Name the most surprising player ranking. The consensus winner was Badosa getting to No. 2 with one major quarterfinal, no semis and four titles to her name.

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Yulia Putintseva was disrespectful to a kid volunteer! I doubt she will forget that! I hope Putintseva loses fan support due to her rude behavior. Players can’t disrespect the umpire, but they’re allowed to disrespect a ball kid? The ATP needs a rule regarding the mistreatment of ball kids!

@lorilfraser2468

• This question is a reference to this bit of callousness.

We try to extend grace to players in the heat of battle. And Putintseva has since issued an apology. But this is so shabby. A) You’re picking on someone tasked with delivering you tennis balls. To borrow from Dave Barry, "A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person." B) You are a famous tennis player, accustomed to being in the public eye. The ball girl did not do this for the spotlight. She will remember this interaction for the rest of her life. C) She handled herself beautifully. D) The best punishment: Putintseva should have to go to a tournament without a ball kid on her side of the net.

ENJOY THE BUSINESS END, EVERYONE!